My career was in power transmission, including 25+ year is line and sub construction from 69 to 500 kV, so I’ve been through this situation 500 times. In addition, my FILs farm was cut in half by a transmission line several years ago. It’s hay and cattle land so he lost nothing. It’s currently being marketed and no prospects or realtors are concerned in the least about the power line. It’s become a selling point because the power company keeps the easement clear and accessible.
A couple of observations I’ll make, 1. The power company fights this fight every day and wins 99.9% of them. Lawyers will cost you a lot of money, but power companies have them on staff. 2. Nobody wants a line on their property, so everyone wants to push back. 3. We all want cheaper power and the best way to save money on line construction is to build a point to point straight line. 4. The power company invests lots of money on the front end identifying the low cost route, which includes not only easements but adjustments for terrain, wetlands, terrain, environmental, endangered species, etc. I say all that to say if they’ve chosen to cross your land, they’ve probably done it for sound engineering reasons.
In my opinion, unless you’re the Governor’s BIL, or you can identify a compelling situation like a wetland or environmental issue, you’re not going to stop it. If it were me, I’d focus on increasing their offer, another $5k shouldn’t bother them, and getting improvements for my property, such as roads, gates, culverts, fencing, etc along the easement. I’ve done a lot of things to keep property owners happy, but you must be reasonable.
Good luck
A couple of observations I’ll make, 1. The power company fights this fight every day and wins 99.9% of them. Lawyers will cost you a lot of money, but power companies have them on staff. 2. Nobody wants a line on their property, so everyone wants to push back. 3. We all want cheaper power and the best way to save money on line construction is to build a point to point straight line. 4. The power company invests lots of money on the front end identifying the low cost route, which includes not only easements but adjustments for terrain, wetlands, terrain, environmental, endangered species, etc. I say all that to say if they’ve chosen to cross your land, they’ve probably done it for sound engineering reasons.
In my opinion, unless you’re the Governor’s BIL, or you can identify a compelling situation like a wetland or environmental issue, you’re not going to stop it. If it were me, I’d focus on increasing their offer, another $5k shouldn’t bother them, and getting improvements for my property, such as roads, gates, culverts, fencing, etc along the easement. I’ve done a lot of things to keep property owners happy, but you must be reasonable.
Good luck
Statistics: Posted by augryphon — Sun Sep 01, 2024 8:32 pm — Replies 82 — Views 10986